Rail joint



RAIL JOINT Filed June 1. 1931 4 BY x ,8 4 yam wwsss: r fi TTORNEYG Patented Mar. 22, 1932 SYLVARIUS A. SPRINKLE, OF MARTIN'SBUR G, WEST 'VIRGINIA RAIL Jam Application filed June 1, 1931". Serial No. 541,452.

My present invention has reference to a rail joint and has for its primary object to simplify, improve and cheapen the rail joint construction upon which I, on Feb. 14, 1931, applied for U. S. Letters Patent, the application bearing Serial No. 515,888.

To the attainment of the foregoing the invention consists in the improvement hereinafter described and definitely claimed.

In the drawings:

Figure 1 is a side elevation of two railway rails connected in acordance with this invention.

Figure 2 is a horizontal sectional view approximately on the line 2-2 of Figure 1.

1 igure 3 is a transverse sectional view approximately on the line 33 of Figure 1.

As is true with respect to my application Serial No. 515,888, my present joint is arranged between two of the ties 1, upon which are spiked rails 2' that have their confronting ends disposed approximately centrally with respect to the distance between the ties 1. The improvement contemplates the em ployment of two rail chairs which are of a similar construction and each of which is broadly indicated by the numeral 3. Each chair 3 has a base 4 from adjacent whose inner edge there arises a vertical flange 5 and each of the flanges is integrally formed with an outstanding horizontal wall 5 of a materially greater thickness than the flange 5 and the base 4:. The base flanges of the rails 2 are designed to rest on the upper face of the walls 6, and the outer edges provided by the walls are formed with vertical extensions 7 which have angularly arranged flanges 8 that overlie the walls 6 and contact with the upper faces of the base flanges of the rails 2. The outer faces provided by the walls 6 and the extensions 7 are straight, but the outer corners of the extensions 7 are inclined inwardly, as at 10, and merge into flanges 11 which underlie and afford rests for the heads'of the rails 2. Below the flanges 11 the extensions 7 are grooved or concaved longitudinally, as at 12, and the walls provided by these grooves are rounded.

The webs of the rails 2, adjacent to their confronting ends are provided with bolt openings '13 and through these openings there are freely passed the offset ends 14: of a tie bolt 15. The tie bolt is received in one of thepockets provided by one of the grooves 12 and the angle ends or arms 14 thereof areof such length as to prevent their passage entirely through theopenings 13, as thebody of the bolt is. arranged in close'proximity to the wall of the groove o'r pocket in which it is received. The tie bolt 15 is an important element of the improvement inasmuch as the same limits the movement of the rails in the expansion and contraction thereof and likewise permits of one of the rails expanding and contractlng to a greater extent than the other rail. 7

The chairmembers 3 are received in a body which is madeup of a pair of angle members to include a comparatively thick base 16 and aside 17. The base 16 of the body members, at the confronting ends thereof, is cut angularly to form the same with longitudinally extending grooves and with hooks 18, respectively to be'received in the grooves. This establishes an interlocking engagement between the body sections. At points adjacent to the ends 'of the joint Ipass through the yieldable sides 17 of the body and through the horizontal portion of the chair which I have termed the walls 6', bolt members19 engaged by suitable nuts 20. By tightening the'nuts the upper portions of the chair members are forcedtogether so that a proper frictional engagement between the chair members and the rail may be at all timesattained. By'reference to the drawings it will be noted that the joint projects below the rails a distance approximately equaling the height of the ties 1. and'the roadbedispacked under the joint to sustain the" same at a proper elevation,

The packing thus prevents the sinking ofthe ther detailed description will not be required,

but obviously I do not wish to be restricted to theprecise details herein set forth and, me

therefore, hold myself entitled to make such changes therefrom as fairly fall within the scope of what I claim.

Having described the invention, I claim:

1. A rail joint comprising two members of a length to be received between two support ing ties for rails and of a height to rest upon the roadbed, said members receiving and wedging therebetween the confronting ends of two rails and said members being provided with pockets, a tie bolt having angle ends,

said tie bolt being received in one of said pockets and the ends thereof passing through the webs at the confronting ends of the rails, a two-part housing for the rail supporting and wedging members and means passing through the housing and the members for forcing the members toward each other and for sustaining the housing on the members.

2. A rail joint comprising two members to rest on the roadbed between two of the supporting ties for the rails, said members having their sides channeled from adjacent the base thereof to afford upper rail supporting walls, overlying angle flanges arranged above the walls to contact with the outer base flanges of the rails when received on said rails, and having upper angle portions to underlie and aiford rests for the heads of rails, pockets below said flanges, one of said pockets designed to receive therein a tie bolt having angle ends to be freely received through bolt openings in the webs of supporting rails, a two-part housing for the rail supporting members and adjustable means pass ing through the sides of the housing and the rail supporting walls ofthemembersforholding the housing on the members and for compressing the members toward each other.

3. A rail joint comprising two members to rest on the roadbed between two of the supporting ties for the rails, said members having their sides channeled from adjacent the base thereof to afford upper rail supporting walls, overlying angle flanges arranged above the walls to contact with the outer base flanges of the rails when received on said ra ls, and having upper angle portions to underlie and afford rests for the heads of rails, pockets below said flanges, one of-said pockets designed to receive therein a tie bolt having angle ends to be received freely through bolt openings in the webs of supporting rails a two-part housing for the rail supporting members and adjustable means passing through the sides of the housing and the rail supporting walls of the members for holding the housing on the members and for compressing the members toward each other and the base portions of the housings having interengaging tongues at the confronting edges thereof.

In testimony whereof I afix my signature.

SYLVARIUS A. SPRINKLE. 

